The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene is a book about pragmatism. Greene doesn’t attempt to indoctrinate his readers into believing a fixed philosophy, in fact, he does the opposite. At the end of each chapter, he includes a “reversal” section where he attempts to criticize the validity of his laws. Sometimes, there are … Read more
Law 30: Make your Accomplishments Seem Effortless To become a master at anything, you need to invest considerable time and effort. But don’t tell others about your tricks, and how hard you had to toil – create an air of nonchalance and effortlessness. Be careful of teaching others too many of your secrets for they … Read more
Summary The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche is a collection of masterfully written musings about art, religion, God, literature, human psychology, the difference between the sexes, thinking, the illusion of the contemplative minds, free will, actors, and morality. Nietzsche despises systematic thinking, he rejects the British philosophical tradition and the German tradition. The urge to … Read more
Law 47: Do Not Go Past The Mark You Aimed For; In Victory, Learn When To Stop There is wisdom in knowing when to stop. After you have achieved victory, don’t tempt fate. In 559 B.C, Cyrus defeated his grandfather Astyages, king of the Medes. He created the Persian Empire. After that, Cyrus achieved consecutive … Read more
The Law of Accelerating Returns The Singularity is near is a documentary that features Ray Kurzweil. It tells us about a future that is post biological – when human beings transcend their natural limitations and merge with AI. Kurzweil believes that this will happen approximately around the year 2045. Kurzweil has grown his credibility over … Read more
Law 45: Preach the Need for Change, but Never Reform Too Much at Once Change is necessary, but if you want to implement it, in must be gradual. If you change the status quo too quickly, people will revolt. Whether you are a politician or introducing a new product to the market, don’t deviate too … Read more
Law 43: Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others Coercion eventually backfires, you must seduce others into doing what you want. You must pay attention to their emotions, and slowly break down their defenses. If you ignore their hearts and minds, they will grow to hate you. Louis XVI married Marie-Antoinette. The French had grown sick of the mistresses that Louis XV … Read more
Law 42: Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep will Scatter A single individual can be the cause of trouble, this person is the stirrer, the arrogant subordinate, or the poisoner of goodwill. Strike at him to put an end to his poison. At the end of the sixth century B.C, Athens established a democracy that … Read more
Law 39: Stir Up Waters to Catch Fish A monkey, whilst munching a ripe pear, was pestered by the bare-faced importunities of a wasp, who, nolens volens, would have a part. After threatening the monkey with his anger if he further hesitated to submit to his demand, he settled on the fruit; but was as … Read more
Law 37: Create Compelling Spectacles Grand symbolic gestures can be used as a powerful tool to influence, distract, and project an aura of power. Words are not as powerful, they are dangerous and often misinterpreted. We often reflect on what others say to us, and eventually believe in the opposite of what they say – … Read more